Action Society says the latest SAPS crime statistics again highlight how violent crime in South Africa is concentrated in specific policing areas, while the country’s centralised policing model prevents resources from being deployed where they are needed most.
The third quarter crime statistics for the 2025 to 2026 financial year, covering October to December 2025, identify the police stations contributing the highest number of cases across serious crime categories including murder, rape, carjacking, robbery at residential premises, robbery at non-residential premises, truck hijacking and kidnapping.
Stations such as Nyanga, Inanda, Umlazi, Khayelitsha, Delft, Harare, Mfuleni and Lusikisiki once again appear among the most affected policing areas.
“These statistics clearly show that violent crime in South Africa is concentrated in identifiable hotspots,” says Juanita du Preez, national spokesperson for Action Society. “Yet our policing system still allocates resources through a highly centralised national model that does not respond effectively to these local realities.”
According to Action Society, the repeated appearance of the same police stations in the statistics should trigger targeted interventions, including additional detectives, intelligence support and investigative resources.
Instead, government frequently relies on temporary measures such as deploying members of the South African National Defence Force to crime hotspots.
“Deploying soldiers may create short term visibility, but it is like putting a plaster on a haemorrhage,” says du Preez. “What these stations need is properly resourced investigative capacity. More boots on the ground will not lead to more convictions if the detectives, forensic services and prosecutors behind those arrests are already overwhelmed.”
Action Society says this challenge was highlighted in its Trust Indicator study, which found that slow investigations and delays in the justice system significantly erode public confidence in law enforcement.
For the organisation, the statistics reinforce the need for structural reform, including greater localisation and devolution of policing powers so that provinces and capable municipalities can help direct policing resources to crime hotspots.
“Crime happens locally, victims live locally and criminal networks operate locally,” says du Preez. “But the authority to deploy policing resources remains largely centralised. Until that changes, the same communities will continue carrying the heaviest burden of violent crime.”
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